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Misusing PRP ( Platelet Rich Plasma) and stem cell treatment for "treating" infertility

Infertile couples are desperate, and many IVF doctors are happy to take undue advantage of this, in order to maximise their income.

The latest racket is the use of PRP, or platelet rich plasma. This is supposed to contain stem cells, which have " miraculous " properties, which can treat anything and everything ! After all, stems cells are magical - they can transform themselves into any kind of cell in the body, because they are the original progenitor cells !

This is why andrologists now inject PRP into the testes of hapless infertile men with testicular failure, to " help them" to produce sperm; and gynecologists inject PRP into the ovaries of infertile women with premature ovarian failure, to help them to produce eggs ! To add insult to injury, they charge an arm and a leg for this "treatment" !

The major problem is that PRP is extremely easy to do - hair transplant surgeons use it routinely all the time, and IVF specialists now want to get on the bandwagon ! It's tragic that " PRP treatment " has become such a farce today !

Authored by : Dr Aniruddha Malpani, MD and reviewed by Dr Anjali Malpani.